Peace Corps Prom Part 1

After the All Volunteer Conference, I went to La Sirena, a big box retailer that is somewhat like a version of Target with a more extensive selection of food and groceries. I had a big bill that I needed to break and unlike most places I spend money, I knew they would have change. As I was going through the checkout I heard my name. It turns out fellow volunteers Julie, Scott, and Claire had also come for some last-minute shopping. After a dalliance in the dining area, the four of us said, “see you at prom”.

Back home, I hammered downed some rice and pork and took a momentary shower. I needed to get downtown and I couldn't be on public transit after 7:00. At the bus stop across the street from my barrio I caught the first guagua (a ten-seater bus being made to fit seventeen) to go by. We hadn't gone a hundred yards when traffic slowed to a crawl. The driver kept wedging us into mere crevasses between trucks and cars that just made it harder for everyone to get where they were going. To make matters worse, the engine kept dying.

View facing north into Barrio Los Angeles standing on the pedestrian bridge
over Autopista Duarte.